Forgive Me
by KernieKisewin
Summary: Elena hears the words come out of Caroline's mouth. She knows she can't do anything. Bonnie doesn't want her to. But after everyone had given for her, she owed them. She had to protect them. By doing the only thing she knew to do. Leave.
1. Chapter 1

As she heard the words come out of Caroline's mouth, she knew. Bonnie not seeing her meant more than just not seeing her; she knew Bonnie wouldn't forgive her. Bonnie didn't want to see her right now, and Elena wasn't sure she ever would. Caroline shut the door, leaving Elena in the doorway, hurt and shocked, but she wasn't the least bit confused as to why. She understood Bonnie. If anything, she respected Bonnie more than anyone in the current moment, even if it had come out of Caroline's mouth, the words belonged to Bonnie. And she needed to hear them.  
>She was the reason. Solely Elena. She could no longer pretend it wasn't any longer. Elena Gilbert was the reason her friends were hurting. She had caused all of their pain, their tears, and she was the reason their loved ones died. She wished that it had never had happened, that she didn't have to be the doppelganger. Elena didn't want to keep causing the people she loved pain, and she knew what she had to do.<br>She had to leave Mystic Falls; and she couldn't leave word of where she would be with anyone. She had to protect her friends and face her life on her own. She didn't feel guilty for leaving; she felt guilty for staying. Leaving was the only option that crossed Elena's mind as she trekked back to her house in the dark. She was leaving, and she had half an hour to do what she needed. She wouldn't allow herself to stay longer. She needed to let them move on with their lives.

As Elena reached her house, she took in its dark nature. Ric wasn't home. Jeremy was in Chicago. Jenna was dead. This wasn't just a house. It was a museum of the people she loved. The people that had left her; that she had made leave her. It contained her memories and her fears, but most importantly, it held her heart. It was where she grew up. It was where she was happiest; with her family. When she had a family.  
>She walked through the halls of the house running her hands along the wall as if to memorize this moment; commit it to memory. Her eyes saw everything, seeing it for the last time, and she felt her eyes sting and her heart get heavier. Of course it would always be her house, it was in her name, and it would undoubtedly always be her home, but she had to find a temporary one. She had to find a lot of temporary ones for her plan to work.<br>Elena opened the door to her room and her eyes searched it, half expecting Damon to be there, laying over her bed with her bear on his lap. A smirk on his face. But she quickly tried to stop herself from thinking of him. She hurt him, too. After all he had done to protect her, this is all she could give him; protection from her. Even though she knew in her heart that it had, and always would be, him, she couldn't say it. If she said it, it became real. If she said it, there would be no return of the Stefan she once knew. But she didn't want Stefan for her; she wanted him for Damon. Though he would never admit it, she saw how much he truly loved his brother. She wouldn't be the one to take Stefan from him. But as she allowed herself out of these thoughts, she knew she was stupid for even thinking Damon would be here. No one would be tonight; just her. And it would only be her for a short twenty-five more minutes.

Elena's hands flew to her closet to grab her clothing. She could take most of it, along with her shoes. She threw her fully-loaded duffel onto her bed and walked into her bathroom. She grabbed what she would need, and then, as her eyes caught the picture of her and Jeremy laughing taped to the top of the mirror, she took that, too. She took her duffel to the car as she put the belongings from the bathroom in it. And then made her way back up the stairs for another trip of her things. She took her journals and her pictures; they were her most personal things, and soon, they would be the reminder of why she has to stay away. It was to protect them. She just had to keep reminding herself of that. She had to be strong, for them. She could let her heart break when she disappeared into the night. Only then, would she let herself break. And only then would she try to finally cut her emotions off; or try to, at least.  
>She had made several trips to fill her car with her belongings, and as she walked in for the last time, she glanced over her room to make sure she left nothing she would need. And, at last, she grabbed a pack of paper and a pen and wrote her goodbyes.<br>The first was to Ric. It contained a simple, but meaningful thank you. She only asked him of one favor: to watch over Jeremy. She said she would never be able to repay him for what he had done for her and her family.  
>Elena wrote Bonnie and Caroline's letter together. It stated the words <em>"I'm sorry. You were right: It is my fault. Please forgive me." <em>Tears dropped from Elena's eyes as she went on to the next letter.  
><em>"Jeremy. I am sorry to leave you with nothing but an empty house. You're strong; the strongest I know. You can do this. You will survive this. You survive everything. Thank you for a lifetime of memories, and thank you for being my brother and loving me. I love you."<br>_Elena folded Jeremy's up with the other two. Their names were on the outside. Elena looked down to the next blank page: "_Stefan. I know that if you could take it all back, you would, just to protect the people you love. Please understand my leaving. I am protecting you from the dangers that find me, and most importantly, I am protecting you from myself. You will always be my friend. We were never meant to be anything more. That much is clear to me now." _ She folded it up, and placed it in the stack.  
>Damon's letter. The hardest to write, because she owed him so much. She owed him more than leaving in the middle of the night. She owed him more than just a letter. She owed him an explanation, but not like this. <em>"I know while you are reading this, you will feel anger, and if your heart were able to beat, it wouldn't be able to be contained in your chest. I know that you are the first to know that I am gone, because I know that you are the one that pulls my blanket over me in the middle of the night. I feel like I owe you the most, Damon. I owe you much more than I will ever be able to offer you. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you. You have trusted me, loved me, and protected me; now it is my turn to protect you. You deserve much better than a girl who breaks your heart. You will find her. I promise.<em>" She stopped writing, and picked up the pen. Tears were wetting the page. "_I will always love you. It was al…" _The sound of the wind blowing caught her attention. It was way past her time to leave. She had stayed twenty minutes longer than she had planned. She placed Damon's letter over her heart, then placed it on top of the others. As she wrote in words on the next black page she left it on her desk in front of the letters. "Please forgive me"

It was time.


	2. Chapter 2

Elena hadn't made it fifteen minutes past the "Thank You for Visiting Mystic Falls" sign when she felt herself breaking. She felt as though her heart was being ripped out. She knew she was leaving her heart in Mystic Falls. It would always remain there. She turned on the radio to drown out her crying, trying to focus her thoughts on the music that came blaring through. After a few minutes, she turned the music down. There was no way to escape the pain of what she was doing. But she knew it was right, and she pushed through.  
>As time kept passing, so did the distance. And the further away Elena got from Mystic Falls, the more sure she became of her plan having a standing chance. They wouldn't look for her, not at first. But maybe as time passed, they would know she wasn't coming back for good. And if by chance they tried to find her, she knew it would be impossible. She would try to change as much as she could about herself, and she wouldn't stay in one place for too long. She would always be moving.<br>After driving for seven hours, she was well out of Virginia. She had decided to South, following the road trip that she and Damon took when he brought her to Georgia. She smiled at the memory. She stopped at an inn along the road to catch up on sleep. She set her alarm for noon.

Damon was in a full blown panic. He had arrived in the early morning hours to check on Elena. Make sure she was okay. But she wasn't here. When he saw the note lying on her desk saying to forgive her, he felt his heart break. She was gone. She left. She chose to leave. And he picked up the piece of paper, Damon saw the letters. He saw his name in her perfect handwriting. He sat down on the corner of her bed holding it.

Without noticing how long he had sat at her bed, he saw day break through her window. It snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned his attention back to the letter that he held in his hands. He slowly unfolded it. _"I know while you are reading this, you will feel anger" It beg_an. Damon smirked. Elena knew him too well. Instead of being like most people and being upset that the love of his life ran off to protect the people she loved, he got pissed. He was livid. He could have killed her, just to bring her back and do it again. "_…because I know that you are the one that pulls my blanket over me in the middle of the night." She really did know him. She surprised him. He had been sure she hadn't known_. He let the thoughts pass and continued to read. "_You have trusted me, loved me, and protected me; now it is my turn to protect you." _ His smirk left his face. He now understood. Elena was not just gone for the day, or even the week. She was gone and she wasn't planning on coming back. As his anger began to rise, he stood from the bed and paced the short distance of the room. He found himself punching the wall. He rest his head against the wall, and sighed. He had to keep reading. _You deserve much better than a girl who breaks your heart. You will find her. I promise."_ If he ever found her, he was going to rip her throat out. He was going to kill her. She didn't get to do this. Not to him. _ "I will always love you. It was al…" _He finished the letter. He couldn't move. Elena was gone. And not only was she gone, she left a letter confessing her love to him.  
>So Elena like, always running and giving up. Damon couldn't keep the negative thoughts away, but he couldn't keep the positive out either. Like the fact that she loved him. And though that was the only good thing that came of this letter, he couldn't help but read it over and over again. He had to make sure he wasn't imagining things.<br>When he had a grip on his anger, he picked up the other letters. Walking out the door, he left Alaric's on the foyer table. He would see it when he walked in. He started towards Bonnie's house know Caroline had been with her last night. Not that either of them would talk to him. He did kill Bonnie's mom, but it was for Elena. And it suddenly clicked in his head. Elena was supposed to be with them last night. So she left because of them.

Damon's speed picked up. He didn't care that it was broad daylight now, he used his vampire speed. He had to know what happened. As he reached Bonnie's house, his hands found the door as he banged them heavily against it, waiting for them to answer.  
>As ten minutes passed, Damon didn't let up, and when he heard a cough come from inside, he knew they were awake. And within seconds, Caroline was at the door, Bonnie and her mom behind her.<br>Caroline threw the door open with attitude while her eyes attacked him. "What do you want, Damon? Do you really think that it is a good idea to come around here right now?" He voice was loud.  
>"What the hell did you say to Elena?" His voice was hard, and more quiet than he thought it would be. He was trying to stay calm. But Caroline didn't answer fast enough. "Spit it out, Barbie. What the hell did you say to her?" Caroline still said nothing.<br>But Bonnie spoke up. "We told her this was all her fault." Damon watched as she didn't even have remorse in her eyes. "We told her she was the cause of everything. Grams dying. Caroline turning. _Innocent _people dying. We didn't sugar coat it like you and Stefan do. We all love Elena, but she's not doing anyone any good right now. Klaus is after her. Not me. Not Caroline. Not my mom. Her. None of this ever would have happened if she hadn't." Bonnie's voice had turned spiteful. He never imagined he would hear that from her, even if he didn't like witchy.  
>"You little…" Damon lost his words as Caroline began to throw the two cents in.<br>"Don't start Damon. You lost everything you had once, too. You know what it feels like. If" Damon cut her off.  
>"She's gone." His voice came out whispered. He'd had rage in him on his way over, prepared to let them have it, but when he thought he could, the truth hurt too much to say. He was just glad Caroline had vampire hearing.<br>"She's what?" Caroline's voice carried outside into the street and caught the attention of people passing by on the street. "What the hell do you mean?"  
>Damon took a deep breath. "She left." Damon looked down at his hands where he held the letters. "Here." He stuck his arm out towards the door, as Caroline snatched it from his hand.<br>She tore it open and read it. "You have got to be kidding me. This is all my fault." Caroline had tears on her eyes. With the realization of the letter, she knew her best friend was gone, and to where, no one knew, not even Damon. "Bonnie. We did this. We"  
>"No! We did not!" Bonnie's voice was sharp. She had no emotion in her voice as she spoke, but the tone in her voice was angry. "She chose to leave. It was her choice. It always has been. She should have made it sooner. Maybe things would have turned out better." Her face was blank.<br>Caroline's head whipped around to face her. "How could you? Yes, she hurt us. And yes, she is definitely the main reason that everything happened, but you were already a witch, Bonnie. Elena didn't do that. How could you even say those things? She's your friend!"  
>"Right now, she's the girl I hate for causing me pain in life. And I don't know when or if that is ever going to change." Carolina and Damon had no response, they just stared at Bonnie with a blank expression worn on their face. Damon didn't want to hear anymore. He turned to leave. He still had Stefan's letter.<p>

As he arrived back at the boarding house, he began thinking about what was in Elena's letter to Stefan. Not that it should matter. He knew she loved him, but he knew she still loved Stefan, too.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he walked to his brother's bedroom. He knocked on the door and saw Stefan lying in bed next to girl Day #3, as Damon referred to them as.  
>"Here. Elena's gone. She left you this. Have fun with Day #3 over here. And oh, by the way, did I mention that Elena is gone?"<br>Stefan looked up at Damon. But Damon saw no sense of urgency in his eyes. Even after what he had just said.  
>"She'll come back. She doesn't know anything but Mystic Falls and her friends. Don't worry about her. I'm sure she just wants the attention." The girl beside him stirred, and found herself cuddled closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "Now if you don't mind…" Damon looked disgusted.<p>

Stefan had finally lost it. There was no going back. It was up to him and Caroline to find Elena and bring her home. To him.


	3. Chapter 3

Just as noon hit, Elena's alarm went off. She rolled over, groaning. She didn't want it to be time to leave. In fact, she really just wanted to sleep the rest of her life away. Maybe then she could escape the pain of her heart.  
>She jumped in the shower, making it a quick one, then threw on a new outfit; sweatpants and a t-shirt. She had no reason to use her nicer clothes, she was going to be in her car the entire day, anyways. She was still on the move. She had to keep putting distance between herself and the town. She couldn't be too close. Elena headed out to her car with her things, getting ready to set out. Food. She needed a gas station anyways. She drove until she found one and pulled into the parking lot to a gas pump. She pulled out her money and she sat there looking at it. She hadn't been able to pull all of the money out she would need. She'd only gotten $2,000 from the Mystic Fall bank ATM. She would need to get the rest of it somehow. She walked inside to pay the cashier for gas and grabbed a lot of bag of different kinds of chips, a few pack of gum, and a cooler full of drinks. She finished up at the gas station after filling her car and was on her way, once again.<br>As she drove, she turned on music to try and clear her head of all thoughts, but no matter how loud she turned it, her thoughts seemed louder. And each of them involved Damon. She knew she wasn't going to let Mystic Falls go easily. She knew she wasn't going to let her heart go easily. She was going to have to fight her heart the rest of her life.

Elena reached smiled to herself as she passed the "Welcome to Georgia" sign. She fought to get Damon out of her mind. She couldn't rely on him anymore. She couldn't rely on anyone anymore. She had to start over. She had to make a new life for herself.  
>That's what she would do. Make herself a new person. She kept driving. She didn't plan on stopping for a while.<br>_

"Damon," Caroline approached him carefully. His back was turned towards the fireplace, and he was drinking. "Are…. Are you okay?"

"Why is something always going on with Elena?" His voice was hard. "Elena this. Elena that. Why does everyone love Elena?" He began pacing back and forth. "And why should we go after her right now? She wanted to get away. She wanted to leave…"

"You don't know what you're saying, Damon! Maybe if you could put down your drink and realize that the girl you love is…"

Damon was in front of her in seconds, starring her down in the eyes. If looks could kill, Caroline knew she'd be dead. "Loved." He cut her off. "As in past tense." And in another second, he was gone. Vanished from view, leaving Caroline alone. There was something going on with Damon. He didn't just give up on things, especially when it came to Elena.

She raced after him. She knew where he would be. The only place he went to think. The back woods of Elena's house. As she peered into the darkness, she saw Damon perched on a rock, looking out over the road, as if he was expecting Elena's car to suddenly appear out of the thin air and all would be right in the world. "Damon,"

"Come on, Barbie." He turned towards her with a smirk on her face. "Can't you just leave well enough alone?"

"Do you really plan on letting her go? Leaving her out there, all by herself, with everything going on? Is that honestly a smart plan?" Her tone was very patronizing, and judging. She wanted nothing more than to hurt Damon for even thinking about it.

"Do you really think I could do that?" He looked mad. Wondering how even Barbie could think that he would just give up on Elena. "I was giving Stefan a show. I don't want him with me while I look for her. But, as for letting her go. Come on, Caroline. You know as well as I do that she left for a reason. She doesn't want to be found right now. She needs time to herself. And if this is how she can get it, then I will not take that from her."

Caroline seemed confused, and sat down heavily on the ground trying to understand. "But you just said you were going to find her…"

Damon's smirk disappeared. "Right. I'm going to find her, not bring her back. I will let her have her life. That's all she's trying to do. But, I will always be there. I can't let anything happen to her. " He looked away at her house then back to Barbie. "And I can deny ever having this conversation. I don't do nice, Blondie." He smirked. Caroline understood. Even someone as tough as Damon Salvatore had a nice side. And she was beginning to learn that it only showed itself where Elena was concerned. If Damon was going to find Elena, Caroline was going to have to be the one to convince her to come back. She was finally starting to realize how much Damon needed her in his life.

By sundown, Elena found herself in Atlanta, Georgia. She found it's familiarity nice and comforting. But she knew Damon would look here first. And then began questioning why she even came this way. She had said, or rather written, her goodbyes. There was nothing left to take care of. She just needed to take care of her heart.

She settled in a motel right around the corner from a small, local bar and decided to take the edge off things. She was still itching to go back, and she needed to let loose. She needed to prove to herself she could still have fun. Even without her friends…. And especially without Damon….


	4. Chapter 4

She walked a few blocks away from the small, local motel she was staying in to a bar. It reminded her of the bar that Damon had taken her to when he "took her unwillingly". She used the words loosely. She hadn't wanted to go at first, but Damon wasn't the worst person to be with. He wasn't the worst person to be alone with. In fact, if you were someone Damon cared about, you would never have anything to worry about; that's just the kind of person he was. Well, to her, and really, only her. Elena was his, metaphorically speaking. She would always be his.

Elena took a seat at the bar between two men, who looked to be about her age. She smiled at them to politely acknowledge them, but she just wanted her drink, then she would leave.

"Hello, sweetheart," The man to the right of her positioned his body to face her. She tried to face more forward, and scoot are far to the left as possible. "Come on. What's your name?" She could smell his breath as soon as he spoke towards her, and she wanted to puke at the smell.

"Elena," She said, matter of factly. She was cold. She didn't want to be anything else. She didn't have the energy to be anything else.

"Well, Elena. Are you new to town?" A smirk appeared on his face. As if he thought he were getting somewhere.

"Just passing through, actually." He tried to get the attention of the bartender again, and the attempt was lost when he spoke out again.

"Well, I could show you around a bit," His voice was disgusting her. "You know…. There are a lot of nice things to see around here….. Monuments, people….. Hotels…."

She wanted to puke. But before she could speak, the guy on her left spoke up. "Greg, give it a rest. Leave the girl alone." He shook his head. "Sorry about him. He's just…."

"Yeah. Thanks." She smiled at him. It was genuine. It was her first genuine smile since she left. "Elena." She stuck her hand out towards him. He grabbed it to shake, introducing himself as Wyatt. "It's… nice to meet you Wyatt."

He smiled back at her, "So you're just passing through, huh? No time for any infamous tours? You don't want to go to the park? Or to the capitol?" She just kept smiling, shaking her head no. "To see the peach? To The Varsity?"

"What's The Varsity?" She asked. "That sounds like fun…" Wait. What is it….?

He laughed, his smile stretching to his eyes. "Yeah, it's fun… If you like waiting an hour in line to get a dog, or hamburger… Or a cone. Anything really." He looked at the bartender. At least he could get her attention. "A drink, for my friend here." He turned back towards Elena. "What do you prefer?"

"Uhh…" She looked confused.

"Vodka?" He suggested. She smiled and nodded. "So…. How about The Varsity?" She hesitated, and he noticed. "Come on. It doesn't have to be lunch at the Varsity. Let me make up for Greg here…" He motioned to his friend, who was now leaning on the bar, about to fall into unconsciousness.

"I guess I could meet you tomorrow for lunch." She smiled. "Wait, I don't know where it is…"

"I could pick you up. Just let me know where you're staying…" She didn't want him to know. She didn't exactly know how much she could trust him. She shook her head and he quickly wanted to take back his words, "I mean, we could meet here. Around 12:30… And we could make a day of having fun. Before you head out."

"I would really like that. But what else is there? I mean, I'm sensing that this is the only thing to do…" She laughed as she said it. It reminded her of her and Damon again. This is all they did.

He took in her smile, and he smiled even bigger. "Well, no. The opposite actually. I mean, Atlanta itself is fun. You're right about the nightclubs, but there is also Turner Field…. And umm… The park….?" He cocked his head to the side. "And… the, uh, mall…" She smiled at him. "So maybe you're right. But isn't it like this everywhere? Nothing to do…" I would say Savannah. If you like towns like that. It's full of history, and beautiful things. And walking River Street at night!" He was getting wrapped up in his thoughts and words.

"Well," She started. "We could try lunch tomorrow first. We'll talk about Savannah at dinner." His smile shocked her. "That's the way I'm headed anyways. I wanted to go there. I'm just on road trip…. For a while. Until things settle down at home…"

His smile dropped as he realized she was having trouble in her life. Even though he had just met her, she didn't seem like the kind of person who deserved it. No matter what it was. "Well, I'm sure your boyfriend might be missing you…" He was fishing.

"No boyfriend." She smiled, knowing he wanted information. "You can keep fishing though. I'm game for 20 Questions if you are."

"Then my second question…" She looked down at her feet resting at the foot rest of the stool, then looked back up and caught his eyes. Something about him made her feel like a child; like she was innocent. "Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

She smiled. What the hell. Just because she was running, and heart broken and…. Well broken in general, didn't mean she couldn't try to move on. "I would like that." She seemed like she had to convince herself. "Really. I would." She took a sip of her vodka to finish it. And stood to leave all the while looking at him. "I guess I'll meet you back here for lunch tomorrow. Nice meeting you, Wyatt."

"Likewise."


	5. Chapter 5

Damon had caught the end of the conversation between Elena and Wyatt, and Carolina had seen his face twist in pain, like someone was actually driving a stake through his heart. It hurt him, to see Elena so fine. And he wanted to leave after he saw her with another man, but he knew that this was, ultimately, what she wanted. A normal life; where she could get married. And have children. And grow old. And… die. If he wanted Elena happy, he would have to protect her from afar.

However, when the next day came, Elena didn't go to meet Wyatt. She left town. He watched the situation play out slowly in front of him. He watched as Elena set out from her hotel room towards the bar and when the bar was in sight, she froze. He saw as she focused her eyes set upon the building, searching the window panes for the man she was supposed to meet, but then her eyes grew hazy and she hung her head, slowly pulling out a piece of paper. Damon was mesmerized by the scene folding out in front of him. Elena could not meet Wyatt. The sight of her movement caught him in his thoughts as he watched her slowly back up towards the street where she had come from. He saw tears streaming down her rosy red cheeks, and he hated her for taking herself out of his life. He thought this was silly. Watching her instead of going to be with her, to hold her, to love her, but something kept his feet planted where he stood atop the roofs. He just watched. It was all he could do.

Elena found her way back to her hotel, grabbing her already packed bags and headed back towards her car. Caroline wanted to jump out at her. Grab her. Tie her up. Lock her in the Salvatore basement. _Anything _to help keep Damon sane. Her attention turned to him.

"Damon." She was quiet to say his name. Knowing how unstable he was, but still, he ignored her. "Damon, what are we doing? Either we are going to take her back home, or we leave."

"I'm going to watch over her, Caroline." His voice even sounded week. "She wants a normal life. She wants to live. I'm going to let her."

"Damon, that's crazy! You can't let her go! She's going to get herself killed! This is one of your most stupid plans. I swear, I'm going to kill you both. Why don't you just come out to her and say you love her because we all know that she loves you. My God. Didn't she write you a letter. I'm surprised she didn't confess everything." She stopped rambling as she saw Damon's hand shoot towards his jeans pocket. "That's it, isn't it. She did write you a letter." His eyes widened. "And she told you that she loved you. But…"

"But what, Barbie. That isn't going to change anything. She left Mystic Falls. She left me. She chose what she wanted." He snapped at her.

"No. She chose to _protect _us. You aren't going after her because you're afraid. You can't give her a normal life, and that's what she wants. So, you're going to force a normal life on her, by not going after her." The realization hit Caroline like bricks. "Do you know how sick that is? Damon, this is wrong! She didn't decide not to go into the bar because she was scared. She didn't go into the bar because she loved you!"

"Shut up, Blondie!" Damon's hand was around her throat. "Me and Elena will never happen. It's time everyone realizes that. Me. And especially Elena. We are complete opposites. Starting with the fact that I am dead, and she is alive."

"And the fact that you both love each other, you are just too stubborn to admit it. And you want a family more than anything, but you don't want to let your soft side show. And you hate Stefan not just for turning you when you didn't want to be turned, but for him giving you this life and meeting Elena, the one girl who you think you can't have. And for treating her the way he did when you wouldn't have." Caroline had never been so angry with Damon. "She is right in front of you, Damon. Elena is right there. And you are letting the best thing walk out of your life like she means nothing!"

"Because she means too much to me to condemn her to a life like this. She deserves someone more worthy of her." Damon had released her and walked to the back of the roof top to jump back down to his car. "She deserves a normal life." He landed at his car and got in. Caroline following seconds after.

"And how much of a life do you think she can have living on the run, constantly in fear, and in love with you?" Caroline shut her mouth and didn't say another word as Damon turned his car on. He traveled towards Elena's hotel. He would only watch. He repeated it in his mind; he would only watch.

"Hey, pretty momma!" The man yelling at Elena was hanging out of his truck, which was covered in mud. He was shirtless, and from what she could tell, highly unattractive. "Do you need some help pumping that gas?"

"No. I'm good." Elena kept her face at a downwards glance to where she was putting the gas inside of her car.

"You sure? I'm pretty good at it. You know, putting things this big side of small things." He laughed and she could hear his buddies in the car laughing, too.

Elena grimaced and tried to put the cap back onto her car as fast as she could. She got in her car and began to pull out when another truck pulled in blocking her way, just as the man who had been talking to her had gotten out of his truck. She immediately put her car into reverse and slammed over the grassy median separating the gas station from the road. At least she was out of the parking lot. She drove off, trying to get her mind off of things.

But the truck appeared in her rear view mirror minutes later, and he began to drive faster. She didn't know what to do but drive. She couldn't call anyone. But after a few minutes, she noticed the truck lost speed, and turned onto another road. She continued on, not wanting to think of what could have happened to her.

"You sure are stupid." Damon was laughing as he stood on the hood of the truck containing the men. He was just glad they had given up pursuing Elena. Otherwise he would have had to jump on the truck when it was moving, and he didn't plan on getting too dirty today. "You couldn't just leave her alone."

"Hey, buddy. Why don't you go and mind your business? It's four to one. You'll go down without so much as a fight." He grinned and like with Elena, his buddies laughed in unison.

Damon attacked them. One by one. Killing them. Enjoying the struggles from them. "Don't mess with girls who are out of your league." Damon smiled as he piled the bodies and set fire to them to cover his tracks. "Just watching." He said as he walked away from the smoke beginning to overwhelm the bodies. He almost floated towards Caroline, as if he were gloating, or proving a point. "Just watching, and protecting." His smirk made Caroline smile.

_**Hey you guys! Thank you ALL so much for reading! I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! Just went through a breakup! You all know how those can go! I hope you enjoy what I have been writing, and please, I'd love some ideas! I'd love to hear your thoughts about what you think is going to happen, and where you would like to see it go! Follow me on Twitter laaurenlewis or you can follow my blog at .com **_

_**Again, that you guys for not hating me for taking so long to post! Have a great night! Enjoy!**_


	6. Chapter 6

It had been two weeks since Elena left. Almost. Thirteen days to be exact. She knew. She counted each of them with her tears at night. She thought this was going to be easier as time went on, but everywhere she went, all she saw was Damon. In the faces passing on the streets, on billboards, in the people she drank with at bars. Damon was everywhere, and she couldn't help but let the tears build up in her eyes, no matter where she was. At night, she dreamed of him. And in her dreams, he was holding her, letting her cry into his shoulder. Just happy to be back near him. But when her dreams ended, she became her living, depressed self, just trying to make it day by day. She tried not admitting it to herself, but it hurt her even more that no one had come after her. She expected they wouldn't for a while. But she _never _wanted it to be true. She _never _expected for this to break her heart.

Caroline glared at Damon as the stood outside Elena's hotel room for the second time that night. "Dammit, Damon. Either you go in, or you let me. We have listened to her cry herself to sleep for the past two weeks. She isn't moving on from anything. Do you really want her to live like this…? Do you really want this for her? She deserves more than this."

"Think about it Blondie. This is just a phase. If I show myself now, she will never have a normal chance at a life. I want her to have everything that I can't give her. I love her too much to keep her to this life. So, you are right. She _does _deserve more than this." He motioned at himself. "She deserves to live a normal life, and date _normal _guys, and fall in love with them," He paused. "She deserves the wedding she has always wanted, and she deserves all the chances in the world of being able to have children. I can't give her that! She needs that. She's strong. I know she is. She will make it through this." Damon dropped his hand off of the hotel room door and turned back towards Caroline. "We need to leave her alone. We can't keep doing this."

"If you think for a second that Elena is better off without us, you are wrong." Caroline's face had never been more serious. "Damon! Think about this. She has lost everyone. Jeremy is gone. Her parents are dead. Jenna's dead…. She left all of us." She had tears building up in her eyes. "We were everything to her. And she's only doing this because she thinks she is protecting us. We have to tell her she is wrong!"

"But she is protecting us." Damon's words shocked Caroline. But when she looked at his face, she didn't see anything but sorrow. "She is in her own way." He clarified. "Elena is the most selfless, loving person I have ever met. She puts everyone else before her, she tries to be there for everyone, no matter what." He let his back slide down against the outside wall of her hotel room. He sat on the cement ground, twiddling his thumbs. "And I would do anything for her. I would always put her before me." His eyes went to Caroline's face. "Which is exactly what I am doing."

Damon stood up and walked down the stairs to his car. His turned and looked at the hotel door. And Caroline was standing in front of it. "Maybe, Damon, this time, you need to put yourself in front of her. Bring her to her senses, Damon Style." She smirked at him at her last remark. She needed him to be his normal, cocky, "I do whatever the hell I want because I'm Damon Salvatore" self. She never thought that he would be the one she would need to save Elena from herself.

Elena's dream continued. But she couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. It was like Damon and Caroline moved away from her. But she could see them perfectly. Standing outside her hotel room, talking about what was best for her. She just wanted to open the door and drag Damon in.

Caroline could wait outside.

Elena woke herself up sweating. She was too hot for the blankets to cover her and blushed as she remembered her dream after dragging Damon into her room. But she couldn't remember anything else. Just the how hot and vivid the dream was. She could feel it. Her skin actually tingled like it did after he touched her in the most simple way, like brushing her arm as he walked by her. Her heart didn't feel heavy either. She felt better than she had in weeks.

Then it hit her. The conversation between Caroline and Damon. Was it real….? Or had she actually heard them talking outside her room just a little bit ago…?

She stood and walked to her hotel window, and pulled her shade open to reveal an almost empty parking lot. With one baby blue Camaro parked at the far corner with empty seats.

She closed the shade. If they were close, she had to stay in the room, or make a run for it. Or maybe she was just overreacting. There had to be a lot of baby blue Camaros driving around. Then she thought about it… His was pretty old…..

Shit.

"She will come after you, Damon. She knows you're here. She knows you are looking for her." Caroline's hand rested on his arm as they watched from the building rooftop across the street. "She loves you. She'll come back."

**I am so sorry you guys. I have been so caught up in college work this past week. All of my professors decided to throw on major essays right before spring break hit. This would have just added to the load! Goodness! Anyways! I hope everyone has been doing well! I needed something to happen in the story. You guys can decide where the story goes from here. Seriously. I am taking the messages you guys send seriously. I listen to them. I like knowing what you guys like. PM me if you have any suggestions, or just review! I'm up for anything! P.S. Yes. I know the state of Georgia very well. Which is why I am writing it set in Georgia for now. I live here. And when I go to Savannah on March 11****th****, I will make Elena be down there with me. (: So there is your first hint at where she is going! Yes. She is going to Savannah, GA. If you have anymore questions like the person who asked me "Why Georgia?" then just PM me. (: THANK S FOR READING! **


	7. Chapter 7

Caroline's assumptions were wrong though. Elena, even after knowing Damon was coming after her, kept running. Still knowing that there was a chance that he would keep coming for her. But she couldn't bring herself to say this was all for nothing. She needed to let them go on with their lives. Caroline wouldn't follow her forever, and she would talk Damon into going back to Mystic Falls with her.

Elena kept running. Further South to Savannah at first, then after a month there, she grew tired of it so she continued on to Miami. She tried to settle in Miami, but realized that if she ever wanted anything more to come of her life, this isn't where she needed to be. In her moments of honesty to herself, she admitted to herself that she needed to be back in Mystic Falls with Damon, or if Damon had left Mystic Falls for good, she would settle for being anywhere with him. But she knew, given that she had been gone for three months, running from him, he would have no other choice but to move on, or at least use girls for other activities to keep his mind off of her. It was the moments that she thought about her life with Damon she remembered the conversation she had heard between him and Caroline. Damon wanted her to date normal guys, to have her dream wedding, and to one day have the children she always wanted, but she had only realized one thing in thinking about it. She wanted those things with a man that couldn't give her one of them….. Or at least… She didn't think that he could give her those things….

But as Elena's thoughts became more clear, she came up with a way to be with Damon and keep him safe in this time. Elena was prepared to give up everything for him. Even if it wasn't in this time. Not only would this let her be with Damon, but it would keep the people she loved safe. If she wasn't here to hurt them, they would be better off.

"Bonnie."

Elena's voice rang clearly in the phone. A voice Bonnie never thought she would hear again. "Elena….?" To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. "What are you… Are you okay?"

"I need your help. If you would be willing. And I don't want anyone else to know."

Bonnie contemplated, but she had been gone for months, if this was the one thing she could do to help Elena, she would. "Where do you want to meet?"

Bonnie got off the plane in the Miami international airport. She searched the crowd of people at the waiting terminals for Elena, and spotted her not too far off, leaning against a wall looking down. Elena didn't look happy.

As she walked over to her, she took in Elena's appearance. She was skinnier, and her hair was longer… And her attitude was beat. She wasn't the same Elena she had ever know to play around and have fun with people. She was an Elena who had finally been broken, and this time she couldn't hide it.

"Elena," Bonnie's voice rang out through the noise of the terminal and Elena looked up. It was then that Bonnie could see how truly broken she was. If her appearance didn't show how beat she was, her eyes told everything. They didn't shine. They didn't smile.

"Bonnie." Elena straightened and walked closer to her friend… Or whatever she was. She wasn't sure of what they were. "How was your flight?"

"It was… boring." The girls nodded and Elena faked a smile as they walked out of the airport to Elena's car.

"So does anyone know you are here?" Elena had been wanting to ask the question since she had seen her in the airport terminal, but now, after being in the car for thirty minutes to her hotel, she couldn't help but ask.

Bonnie turned her head towards Elena. Thinking of how to say what she had to say. Elena noticed her face fall, and it worried her. "Elena… there wasn't anyone to tell."

Elena's face hardened. "What do you mean?"

"Caroline went to college with Tyler. After graduation, she said she wanted to learn things on her own. Figure things out. So she left with him. And then Stefan decided to go back to Chicago. Figure out what he was doing with his life. He sobered up about a month ago. Reality set back in for him. He's taking things pretty hard right now." She paused, knowing Elena was waiting for the next person, but not sure of how to start. "Damon left. After he and Caroline left to find you, he didn't come back, only Caroline did. He calls every so often, but that's it. No one really knows where he is."

"He's okay?" Elena pushed herself to ask, knowing that it was breaking her.

"He's…. It's like he is just here. He's not living. He's not doing anything. It's sad. Even I have felt bad for him." Bonnie's words made Elena cringe. She knew Damon would just be drinking everything away if he wasn't happy. "He's trying."

Elena had tried to push the conversation between her and Bonnie in the car to the back of her head. She tried to form the words in her heads to ask her friend to help get her into the past. To live it. But instead of being able to be formed, they just came out of her mouth. "I want to go back to the past."

Bonnie's head shot up and her eyes caught Elena's. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you can do it. Send me back to the past. To live when Damon was really alive."

"Elena! That is crazy! Live with him now! If you really want to be with him, be with him now! In the present!"

"Bonnie! Think about it! I would be putting him in danger anyways. I wouldn't be changing the future. I wouldn't do that. I just want to be with Damon while I can be. I want to be with him in every way possible. And if you send me back, to before he went to the war, I can do that. Before Katherine ever came. Before everything bad happened to him. I can be there."

Bonnie waited before she spoke. And then slowly let her eyes meet Elena's. She spoke slowly. "You do know that this could be dangerous, right? I mean, one thing could go wrong… And you might not come back. Time will reset itself, and everyone here will be fine, Damon and Stefan won't even remember that you were there, but if you die there, you actually will die here, too."

"Bonnie, I'm already dead here."


	8. Chapter 8

Elena sat in the middle of the candle lit circle as Bonnie sat on the outside of it, eyeing her carefully. Elena wasn't talking; and Bonnie was still regretting agreeing to this. Not only would Elena be in a different time, but if she needed help, no one would know. And Damon in this time wouldn't remember her either. That was how the spell worked. Time would reset itself after Elena died, or came back. And only Elena would remember going and doing what she did there. And if anything happened to her there, it would be like if it happened to her here. While she was there though, the memories she would be creating with Damon would become his dreams. They would be tied together in a way that they wouldn't think possible.

But Elena was set on doing this. To keep everyone she loved here safe. Only Bonnie would know where she was; and only Bonnie had the power to pull her back. Which Elena had made her promise she wouldn't do; unless someone here was in trouble.

So here Elena was. Silently waiting while Bonnie was thinking of some was to alter the spell to make it last only for a few months. But there was no way of altering it. Bonnie could bring her back only after a year. The only other person who could make her come back was herself. But Bonnie knew better than to think Elena would send herself back. But still, she told her how to do it.

"  
>So, if at any point you need to come back, you just need to…" Bonnie started, reading from her spell book.<p>

"Click my heels together three times and wish to come home. Bonnie, I get it." Elena cut her off. She was ready to go. To start a new life with Damon.

"Elena. Take this seriously. Only you can choose to come back before a full year is up. No one else can. You need to remember what I am telling you." Bonnie was staring down Elena. She wasn't making this a game. They were dealing with life.

Elena let out a soft sigh and began, "I need mugwork. And some other stuff." Elena stopped to think.

"Tell me, right now Elena, or I will not do the spell."

"I need mugwork. And mandrake root. And a clove of garlic, for some odd reason. And I have to combine once I crush them, and soak them in water, and then I need to set it on fire and gather the ashes. I need to put them in this locket," Elena's hand grabbed the old locket that hung around her neck. Bonnie had given it to her. "And I need to sleep with it around my neck, and when I wake up, I will be back here. Bonnie, really I get it. Can we please do this. I know how to come back. I know whatever happens, happens. But at least I will be doing something with my life. I won't be running anymore."

"Elena, are you sure you even want to be with…. Damon…. I mean, of all people, Damon?" Bonnie was still trying to gather what had caused Elena to turn this direction.

"Bonnie. Deep down, I think it was always Damon. I know I hated him, but I got to see a side of him that he doesn't let anyone else see. And I fell in love with it. I know that I have been denying it to myself, but I'm tired of living a lie. I do love Damon. Truly. And these past few months without him with me have been hard, because I finally see how much I really do need him. I know you don't like him, and I know you will always want me with Stefan, or neither of them, but I choose Damon. And I would really like for you to accept it. Because I know I have."

Bonnie was speechless, so she simply nodded and began the spell. The candles flamed up around Elena as Bonnie read the spell. After saying it a few times, Bonnie closed her eyes to gather more power and repeated the process. Bonnie felt a rush of wind, and when she opened her eyes, she found the room dark.

"Elena!" Bonnie called out. But Elena didn't answer; she was gone. And Bonnie was alone.


	9. Chapter 9

"Miss," The voice caught Elena off guard. She'd be wandering alone in the woods for hours. To say she recognized anything would be a lie; it was all trees. Elena spun around to see a man coming towards her on horseback. She backed slowly away. She didn't know this man; she didn't know anyone except Damon and Stefan….And even then, they didn't know her… Yet.

"I'm…" Elena didn't know what to say as the man dismounted his horse. "I uh…"

The man took a step towards Elena and she again took a step back. "You poor thing. Are you lost? Where has your family gone?"

She was already starting her life off with lies. "My mother and father and I were traveling through. And this man, he came for our wagon in the night." Her made tears in her eyes. "Father hid me in some bushes… I cannot be sure of where they are now. I am walking to find them."

"Miss…?" The man stopped. He realized he hadn't yet found out her name.

"Sommers. Elena Sommers." Well, her mother's maiden name was close enough… She couldn't be a Gilbert in this time.

"Well then, Miss Sommers, please allow me to accompany you to town. Possibly get the situation sorted out. We will find a family to take you in for the time being. You might learn you like this town if your father and mother cannot be found." The man smiled at her.

"Thank you, sir." She watched as the man stepped aside and held out his hand for her to take it. He offered her to ride his horse while he walked beside them on the ground.

The walk to town was short, and Elena smiled to herself. She had never imagined Mystic Falls like this. She had always known it for what it was. But somehow, she knew it still felt like home. She slid off of his horse, no doubt doing it the wrong way that ladies in this time did it, but he smiled at her nonetheless, and took the reins from her hands as she held them out.

"Miss Sommers, if you will please excuse me, I will be back shortly. I am just going to talk to Mr. Salvatore. He will sure know of something to help, or Mr. Gilbert. Hopefully we could make you accommodations that will fit your needs."

"Thank you…" Elena paused. She didn't actually know his name yet.

"Mr. Jackson. My name is James Jackson." He smiled at her and bowed. "I will be seeing you around."

Mr. Jackson left Elena sitting between old wooden buildings. She didn't know what they were, and though she wanted to find out, she didn't want to chance not being found by him. He was going to help her. She looked behind her and saw yellow daisies growing. She decided to walk towards them, and when she did, an entire field came into view. Full of daisies. They were her favorite flower. She would definitely be spending some of her thinking time here.

"So you like daisies…" The voice caught Elena off guard. She spun around as fast as she could. It had been way too long since she had heard that voice. "My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just that not many people come to this end of town." Elena still did not speak. "That, and I heard Mr. Jackson trying to convince my father to take in some girl who he found in the woods that had nowhere to go. So you see my curiosity got the best of me. I had to know for myself what you were like." He slowly walked towards her, and he saw her catch her breath. "My name is Damon Salvatore." He stuck out his hand towards Elena. "I believe that you will be staying with my family. Please, allow me to walk you back."

She carefully took his hand in hers, and she felt at home. She could feel the electricity between them, and she was sure that Damon could, too. He quickly released it, and stood there awkwardly.

"On second thought," Damon smiled at her. "What would you like to do for the rest of the day. Perhaps since you will be staying with my family, we should get to know each other."

"I would like that very much," Elena smiled. The feeling was foreign to Elena, and it made her feel giddy. "However, Mr. Salvatore, I believe that you would know better of what there is to do since you live nearby."

"You may call me Damon, Miss Sommers."

"Then please, Damon. Call me Elena."

"I think I will." Damon smile. "It has a nice ring to it."

"So then, Damon, where to. You must show a girl how to have fun." Elena shocked herself. She was becoming comfortable too fast. People from this time, they did things differently… She needed to learn how to act. Or maybe Damon wouldn't mind this kind of girl.

"I thought you'd never ask." Damon smiled, and took her hand back in his, just wanting to feel the sparks he had felt before. "I believe there is a pond not too far away, and no one else knows about it." Damon began walking, pulling Elena in the same way, through the field of daisies. "I come this way when I want to get away from things."

After only twenty minutes, Elena found herself sitting on the edge of a pond, smiling at Damon, as he jumped in. "Elena, the water is great. Jump in!"

"That isn't lady like…" Elena had only mumbled it, but Damon had been getting closer and heard it.

"Elena, this is not gentlemanly like of me. But I feel that I can be myself around you. I feel a connection between us. I just want to have fun with you. We can be best friends." He was smiling at her. And truth be told, she had never seen him smile like that at her. It wasn't a smirk. It was a genuine smile. Yes, there could have been one she'd forgotten about, but this smile, it made her want to kiss him right then.

Elena gave in and jumped in the water. Damon had thrown things at her, pushed her under water, and still she kept smiling. She began growing tired, and decided it would be best to lay out in the grass to begin to dry off. Damon did the same. So they lay there, with their heads right beside each other.

"Damon?" Elena questioned. He turned his head towards her to show her he was listening. "Do you think that sometimes you meet someone and you can just fall in love with them?"

The question didn't shock Damon like she had expected it to. Instead, he sat up and turned his entire body towards her, looking her up and down. "Yes, Elena. I believe that you can love someone even if you haven't known them for say… even a full days length…" He watched as Elena smiled and sat up. He took her hands in his, and squeezed them gently. "I'd like very much to kiss you right now."

Elena listened to his soft words and smiled. Damon wanted to kiss her, and she wanted to kiss him. And there was nothing in their way. For the first time. Ever.

"So then kiss me, Damon."


	10. Chapter 10

Bonnie sat at her kitchen table. It had been a month since she did the spell for Elena. And more importantly, it had been a full month that she successfully avoided Damon's phone calls. If she picked up, she was pretty sure the conversation would be along the lines of "Witchy, what is happening to my dreams? One minute I'm dreaming of eating people, and the next, every dream every night is Elena and myself… When I was alive…"

So she avoided him. It was a conversation she was sure she didn't want to have. Of course, that would mean she would have to avoid him for a full year, until Elena returned. If she returned. No. Scratch that. Bonnie would make her return. After a full year, she would come back. Hopefully, Elena would see that she needed to come back sooner.

But it while Bonnie was sitting at her kitchen table that she got yet another phone call from Damon. She sighed, and pushed ignore again.

"Maybe I should just get a new number…" Bonnie was thinking aloud, as she lay her head on the table. Now days, she could process much.

"It doesn't matter if you did or not, I could still come back to hassle you, witchy." Damon's voice rang through her back door. He watched as Bonnie's head shot up and turned in his direction. He also caught her eyes and saw something wrong in them. "You've been ignoring my phone calls for a straight month. Not smart."

"Damon," Bonnie began, but she was interrupted.

"So, I did some digging around. It was weird really. Witchy begins ignoring my phone calls. Elena enters my dreams and we are both human. Strange, when you think about it. But then I thought about a mutual person between Elena and I. That would probably be willing to do anything to get her friend back after three months of not talking no matter what you felt about her because you still loved her. That's where you come in, you see. Elena is sad. Bonnie helps Elena. Bonnie gets Elena into trouble." Damon's smirk wiped off his face. "What did you do to her?"

"It wasn't my fault, Damon! She asked to go! I couldn't say no to her!" Bonnie began rambling.

"Where did she go?"

"Back to when you were human. So that she could live with you, and not put you into any danger."

Damon stood outside the backdoor of Bonnie's house, shocked. He couldn't move. His mouth was pressed into a firm line. "Why the hell would you do that? Do you have any idea what has been going on?"

"Damon! She wanted to be with you! She is in love with you!"

"Then she could have come back to me in this time. She's didn't have to go back 150 years to achieve that!" Damon looked like her could have ripped Bonnie apart if he was allowed to go into her house. "You will mess everything up, Bonnie! She wasn't supposed to fall in love with me in that time!"

"Damon," Bonnie paused. "Damon, what has been going on in your dreams with Elena?"

Damon's head snapped up. But he couldn't say anything. Elena and him had been intimate. He'd never seen that Elena before. And now, when she was with his past self, she was truly herself, and she truly let herself love him like he had always wanted. "She um… We…"

"Did Elena and past Damon sleep together?" Bonnie ran towards the door.

"They did." Damon smirked. "Over and over and over again. Really. They just don't know how to stop."

Bonnie let out a scream. Of excitement….She wasn't too sure. "What else is happening?"

"Bonnie," Damon smiled, then lost it. "Past Damon asked Elena to marry him last night."

Bonnie's expression dropped. Past times were different than times today. She expected it to happen, but not so soon. "Is this a good thing?"

"Bonnie, when I was dreaming," He paused. Unsure of how to say what he was going to say next. But he needed to tell Bonnie. They needed to get Elena back, and she was the only one who could help do it. "Bonnie, I saw my past self and her talking….. She told him everything. We're about to have a very different future."

"Damon, that's impossible. The spell only affects them. Basically, it's in Elena's mind."

"No. It will change everything and everyone involved in it. Until she comes back of course. Then it will reset. But until then, we will be living what she changes."

"We need to get Elena back."

Damon turned to leave. He officially had Bonnie freaked out. She was going to get Elena back somehow. But he needed to know one more thing. Kind of an odd question….

"Witchy….?" Bonnie's head snapped at Damon's call. "Is it possible for her to get pregnant…. If it is in the past…..?"

Bonnie dropped the bowl she had picked up from the table and it fell down to the floor, shattering into millions of pieces. "Um… Wha…. How…" Words could not form from Bonnie's mouth. Her brain was not working properly.

"Thought so."


	11. Chapter 11

"Damon. Can you please pass me that? I'd like to get some reading done tonight." Elena was resting on their bed, with the oil lamp slowly burning.

"Lena, maybe you should rest. You have been feeling under the weather lately. I am worried for you. You need sleep, so that you won't be so ill during or wedding ceremony." Damon had leaned over her, keeping his weigh off of her. She'd been so easy to puke lately, he didn't want to chance it. He let his hand cup her face while kissed her forehead and smiled down on her.

Elena groaned and rolled over on her side away from him. Mimicking him, to his amusement. "You Mister Salvatore, stink. I hope you have other sleeping arrangements for the night. I am certain that you will not be in my company." She heard Damon let out a sigh as she felt the bed moved under her as he adjusted his position.

His hand had slid from her face to her hand. He held it there, gently rolling his thumb over her hand. "You know I am just worried. I can not help it if I want to protect you. I can not stand you being ill, and I will do anything in my power to make you feel well. In the meantime, I would appreciate if you could just do this for me. Rest. Lay down. Stay indoors. You do not have to move from this bed as long as you feel ill. I will have someone stay here throughout the day with you so that you do not bore and during the night I will be here. But during the night, you need your sleep. Read while it is light outside. That way, I can have you all to myself when the sun is down and everyone is asleep. I can truly be here with you, without being worried if father will catch us before the wedding ceremony takes place. Elena, I…"

"Damon. I will read during the light if you want the dark to be just the two of us. I have no objections to that. And your father already knows. He is just in denial. He has known since I first arrived." Elena turned to face him and slowly sat up, her lips even with his. "He knows about our indiscretions…" Her lips found his, and they slowly molded around his. "And I am feeling much better." Her words were hardly a whisper and she hardly took her lips from his, but he could hear her and he understood at once what she meant. And slowly, he let her lead in the beautiful act they committed. They were one during most nights. Nothing could come between them. That's how they liked it to be.

They woke in the morning tangled in each others' limbs. Elena's skin on fire where his skin touched hers. She had only felt such bliss since being here. For only knowing this Damon 3 months in time, she would never have expected to love him more than she did. But that's what happened. She was happy. And shortly, they would be married.

Shortly, being in just hours.

As Elena prepared for her vows, she wished more than anything that her friends could be there with her. Regardless of how things were left. She didn't have her parents, and she didn't have Jenna, and those thoughts killed her, but she knew they were watching her. She continued to put the beautiful white dress on that Stefan had helped her to design with the seamstress that lived there in Mystic Falls. Stefan sure that Damon would love the look on her. Though it was simple, it was Elena. And that's all Damon would want. As the dress was fully on, she looked herself over. She imagined this day hundreds of times before, but now, her dreams were becoming reality. But her dreams still held place in children. Lots and lots of children. A knock on the door brought her out of her mind and she smiled as Stefan opened the door.

"You look lovely, Miss Elena." Stefan said as he approached her from behind. "Damon sure is lucky to have come upon you."

"You are too kind, Stefan. It is I who is truly lucky. Damon is a man anyone would be lucky to have by her side. I am lucky for him to have chosen me." Elena let her eyes glance back over her dress, making sure nothing was wrong with it. "I keep thinking my parents should be here. To see me. To meet him. To walk me down to Damon." She paused and glanced up at Stefan. "They'll never know how happy he makes me, or how much I truly love him."

Stefan smiled at her, and took her hand in his. "I am sure they know. You Elena Sommers, must have many angels watching over you. Someone as pure as you couldn't. But if you allow me, I would love to hand you off to my brother today. I already consider you my sister."

"That would mean everything to me. Thank you."

The vows were said, and Elena was smiling wrapped in Damon's arms in the carriage that was taking them away from their family and friends. Shortly away was an old house that Damon had been busy working on with with the town. It was to be their house to live in. Shortly outside of town. Away from everyone.

Damon stepped out of the carriage first, turning back to help Elena to the ground. His hand held hers and they stepped onto the porch. "Mrs. Salvatore." Damon smiled at her, "Welcome to our home."  
>Elena smiled. She was truly home. And it felt good.<p>

As Damon opened the door, Elena saw everything. Though she desperately wish for electricity most nights, she knew that tonight that they would not be using it anyways. The candles that lined the halls and their bedroom were enough to set the mood and to guide them to where they were going. She wouldn't get lost tonight. She was sure.

Damon kissed her as she took in the room, cutting her off from muttering a thank you. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, she was his. Right now, nothing else mattered except for her. He slowly picked her up and through she struggled against her dress at first, she wrapped her legs around his waist. The kiss intensified as he backed her up onto the bed and slowly began to take her dress over her head. He'd never seen her in this light. She had never truly been his. But after tonight, she was his forever.

She let him take her again that night. Though it wasn't the first time, it felt as though it could have been. Each touch was different. Each touch was savored. And Elena knew, she was with the man she was meant to be with for the rest of her life.

Though during the night, Elena woke up clutching her stomach in pain. She slid out of the bed away from Damon's arms and let herself feel the way to the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the tub holding in her moans from the intense pain she was feeling. Whatever was happening was not good. She felt another shooting pain, then emptied the contents of her stomach in the nearby bin. It was the last thing she remembered before she passed out.


End file.
